


A Promise At Dawn

by Silverael



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fluff, Golden Deer spoilers, M/M, Major Spoilers, Post-Timeskip (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), i feel like i should add more tags but i'm honestly clueless its just all fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 05:09:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20252692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverael/pseuds/Silverael
Summary: Claude must see his dreams come through, and one requires him to make a promise to a certain invaluable person.A re-written S-Support scene for Claude and M!Byleth.





	A Promise At Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> MAJOR spoilers for the Golden Deer route's ending! As this is a re-written S-Support scene, I tried to make it different but some lines were too good to be left out. Enjoy the fluff that these two bring out in me.

On the night of the day Nemesis, the King of Liberation, died his second and final death, Byleth is not blessed with rejuvenating sleep. 

He tosses himself back and forth in his bed, searching for a comfortable position. With every minute he has counted in his head, he shifts. It is at the fifth minute that, with a defeated and exhausted sigh, Byleth rolls onto his back. His leg kicks to untangle the blanket. He accepts that this will be another sleepless night. Might as well do something, then. 

After several seconds of mentally preparing himself, he sits up from his bed. He rubs at his tired eyes and slouches his shoulders. His entire body aches from today’s historically pivotal battle. The sound of Nemesis’s sword shattering still rings in his head. He remembers shaking hands with Claude, then they both collapsed to the ground. 

And they laughed. 

Byleth fondly smiles, knowing he will cherish that memory. Claude continued to laugh, teasing his former professor for how strange he sounded. They fell into a witty banter as they so often do. Hilda was the one to finally yell at them to get up, but even she had a smile on her face. 

The soon-to-be ruler tosses his blanket off himself and swings his feet over the bed’s edge. He stretches as much as he can. Standing up and putting on his overcoat, he slips his boots on and then heads out into the early morning. No one else is presently outside of their rooms on the first floor’s dormitory. Byleth makes his way to the bridge crossing to the cathedral. Nearly every guard that he encounters greets him. Most of them have become accustomed to the professor’s early morning and late night wanderings. 

As Byleth crosses the bridge, he admires the view of the cathedral. It is looking more like its pre-war self than it did several months ago. He enters the giant structure and soon goes through its left exit. More memories come back to him when he looks at the Goddess Tower. A little more than five years ago, on the night of the ball, he and Claude promised to see each other again at the top of the tower, did they not…? 

Within a few minutes, Byleth finds himself at the top of the Goddess Tower. He leans on the railing, taking weight off his aching legs, and patiently waits for the sunrise. A slight shiver travels through him from the cool air. 

“Oh, hey, Teach!” 

Byleth instantly recognizes the familiar voice. His eyes remain plastered to the skyline. “Join me, Claude.” 

His voice is soft and Claude does not fail to register it. Gone was the strong, stern tone of voice that Byleth had often used. It surely meant that the fighting is over. They can now pursue their dreams and look to the future. Claude grows excited at the thought. He does as Byleth requests and stands beside him. 

“Taking a moment for yourself before all the craziness really begins?” Claude asks, referring to Byleth’s upcoming coronation ceremony. Not even a day has passed since the war’s embers snuffed out, but talks of Fódlan’s new leader had already begun a month ago. 

“No,” Byleth honestly answers, shaking his head. “I just couldn’t sleep.” 

Claude thoughtfully hums. “Me neither. The battle today was something else. Actually, I was hoping to find you up here to discuss the future.” 

That got Byleth’s attention. He turns his head to him. His silence urges Claude to continue. 

“The people of Fódlan will accept you as their new leader. They’ll probably come to rely on you just as much as they did Rhea. We’ll have to set a new ruling system in place once your coronation ceremony is complete.” Claude’s eyes subly soften in a way that only Byleth could notice. “I’m sorry that I won’t be by your side at such an important event, but I’m certain you’ll do great.”

“You won’t be there?” Byleth echoes, eyebrows raising. One of them lowers. “Why not?”

“I still need to see my dreams to fruition,” Claude answers. “Taking down the Empire was just one big step towards achieving them. I have to return to my homeland to see it through. It’ll be a struggle, but… I’ll see what good I can do.” 

Claude reaches into his pocket. Byleth’s eyes widen at the ring presented to him. It is golden and decorated with gleaming emeralds. The colors and details remind him of Claude. Byleth dares not presume why he is being shown such a beautiful object. 

“Consider this a promise,” Claude says. He endearingly gazes at Byleth. “A promise that I will come back to you. We will see each other again, in the unified world that we will create.”

“A ring…” Byleth quietly mutters. His brilliant, nearly glowing, green eyes look up at Claude. “Is this- do you mean…?”

Claude lets out a lighthearted chuckle. “Made you stumble over your words, did I? The ring is exactly what you think it means. You have been walking this path with me and helped me reach my dreams. I grew to admire and respect you for your power and you yourself as a person. I can’t say when exactly my admiration grew to something more. But there’s no denying my feelings for you, Byleth.”

He sheepishly looks aside and scratches the back of his head. His guilt causes his confidence to falter. “I hope you know that I’m sorry for making it seem like I’ve just been using you. Maybe it still seems that way…” 

“I disagree,” Byleth says with a shake of his head. “Use me as much as you would like, in any way you would like.”

“Teach?!” Claude is the bewildered one now. His face begins to heat up. Byleth’s face is unexpectedly serious, although it matched his sincere tone. “What are you suggesting?”

“I’m saying that I chose to support your path,” Byleth clarifies, “and I will continue to do so. No matter how far away you may be.” Byleth places a hand over Claude’s and the ring it holds. “And I, too, have chosen to make you a promise.” He pulls something out of his pocket. Byleth accepts Claude’s ring and presses his own into his hand. 

The red on Claude’s face erupts to full bloom. He grins, revealing some teeth. With a small heartfelt smile, he takes his gloves off and tucks them into the sash around his torso. He proudly slips Byleth’s ring onto his left hand’s ring finger. In his peripheral, he notices Byleth doing the same. 

Claude offers his left hand. Byleth, without hesitation, takes it. Their bare hands have never known the warm touch of the other’s until now. Black gloves had always concealed Byleth’s hands. It was always in the context of the battlefield did they touch, and for a second too long. 

Claude tugs on Byleth’s hand, pulling him into his embrace. He raises his bare hand to entangle his fingers within Byleth’s minty hair. It is as soft as it looks, and Claude cannot help but find it adorable. His other arm slipped around Byleth’s armorless waist, feeling his curves and bringing him even closer. He warmly smiles when Byleth returns the embrace by placing his hands on Claude’s shoulders, his touch light with hesitation. Truly adorable.

“There are so many things I want to see and do with you,” Claude speaks, his lips grazing by Byleth’s outer ear. He feels him shudder. Claude releases Byleth, brushing his fingers through his hair, then cups his face. His thumbs playfully push his cheeks up. A blush forms on Byleth’s face, his pupils blown wide. Claude drinks in the precious sight of the rising sun illuminating Byleth’s ethereal features. It also causes the ring upon Claude’s finger to glint. The ring will be a constant reminder of their future.

“I want to take you to my hometown,” Claude continues. “To show you my homeland and all the wonderful food there. I want to solve as many mysteries of the world together as we can. I-”

Byleth ends his rambling with a chaste kiss upon his lips, taking hold of the hands on his face. He quickly backs away and chuckles at Claude’s stunned silence. The way Claude’s eyes flick from his lips and up to his eyes does not go unnoticed by Byleth. He adjusts his hands to properly hold Claude’s hands instead of his wrists. 

“Keep it all as a surprise for me,” Byleth softly says. “I will wait as long as I must, because I love you, Claude.” 

Claude leans forward and takes Byleth in for another kiss. No words could express the joy that Byleth’s words, actions, and very presence have brought to Claude’s heart. He closes his eyes and takes in the moment as time seems to stop for them. Claude feels Byleth’s hands tighten around his own, smells Byleth’s faint scent of chamomile, and hears the birds sing their early morning songs. They pull away to desperately bring air back into their systems. Once he catches his breath, Claude sincerely states his own feelings.

“I love you, too Byleth. With everything that I am.”


End file.
